Our music, our culture, our science, and our economic welfare all depend on a delicate balance between those ideas that are controlled and those that are free. – James Boyle
So it's like property?
Not really. Copyright expires after some time but your legal right to property - a chair for example - doesn't. That's why actors don't need permission to perform a Charles Dickens play. Copyright is more like a temporary monopoly: only you alone can sell copies of your song/book/movie/etc., or even sell the Copyright for a defined period of time. It's not like property because in some cases people can take bits without needing to ask, like when someone quotes part of a book. There are several kinds of uses that you don't need permission for, and the term for this is "Fair Use". Examples of Fair Use include photocopying portions of books for education, and researchers and academics using works for research purposes.
Our music, our culture, our science, and our economic welfare all depend on a delicate balance between those ideas that are controlled and those that are free. – James Boyle
What Is Copyright?
Copyright is a legal concept giving the creator of an original artistic work rights over their work for a limited time.The second you press stop after recording an audio track, or take your pencil off the page after drawing an image for example, you're granted Copyright for what you've just made. You don't need to register it, or write a © on it. As a Copyright holder you have a right to make and sell copies of your work, with some exceptions.
So it's like property?
Not really. Copyright expires after some time but your legal right to property - a chair for example - doesn't. That's why actors don't need permission to perform a Charles Dickens play. Copyright is more like a temporary monopoly: only you alone can sell copies of your song/book/movie/etc., or even sell the Copyright for a defined period of time. It's not like property because in some cases people can take bits without needing to ask, like when someone quotes part of a book. There are several kinds of uses that you don't need permission for, and the term for this is "Fair Use". Examples of Fair Use include photocopying portions of books for education, and researchers and academics using works for research purposes.
Copyright Matters Some Key Questions and Answers for Teachers
"This document may be freely reproduced
without obtaining the permission of the authors,
provided that no changes whatsoever
are made to the text.
ISBN 0-88987-156-6
© 2005"